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2009 Season - Win over Chapman is 10th straight

The obstacles were many but Augustana made the most of its chances and came away with a 2-0 non-conference victory over Chapman on Friday, October 2 in Orange, California. The Vikings were supposed to leave the Quad Cities on Thursday evening but weather forced the cancellation of that flight. Instead, veteran head coach Scott Mejia’s team did not fly out until Friday morning and then had to play a very tough Chapman team later that day.

Despite the odds, Augustana used goals by Erin Coulson (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville, Ill.) and Ashley Higuchi (Smoky Hill HS, Aurora, Colo.) to come away with the 2-0 win. The victory was the 10th in a row for the Vikings, who are off to the best start in school history with a perfect 10-0 record. Augustana is currently ranked fifth in the NCAA Division III Central Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association and 22nd nationally according to D3soccer.com.

The game was scoreless until the 33:24 mark when Coulson scored her team leading eighth goal of the season off an assist by freshman Taylor Moesle (Carl Sandburg HS, Orland Park, Ill.). It was Moesle’s fourth assist of the year.

Midway through the second half (70:13), Higuchi gave the Vikings some much needed breathing room when she scored an unassisted goal. It was the third goal of the year for Higuchi.

Chapman held a distinct advantage in shots, winning that battle by a margin of 16-8. However, Augustana goalkeeper Kayla Radloff (West Chicago HS, West Chicago, Ill.) was able to post her seventh shutout of the season and move her record to 10-0 on the year. Radloff has allowed just three goals this year and has a goals-against-average of 0.32.